Contrary to fathers' rights propaganda, father perpetrators (along with stepdads and caretaker boyfrends) dominate the most vicious crimes against children: sexual assault, abusive head trauma, murder-suicides, crimes involving gun violence, and other similar forms of physically violent/fatal child abuse. And as more dads are providing child care (either because mom is working and can't find other care, or because dads are increasingly getting unsupervised visitation/custody through the family courts), more dads are are being found guilty of basic child abuse and neglect as well.

10/25/15 -Because of severe time constraints, we are no longer able to do regular updates at Dastardly Dads. We will occasionally post articles on general studies on child abuse/domestic violence, news pieces involving abusive fathers in custody/visitation situations. We wil also be updating the Killer Dads and Custody lists, while looking for a better, more accessible platform for the data.

7/11/16 - We started this blog on June 24, 2009--just over seven years. And like all good things, it's time to bring this project to a close. It has served its purpose. We have close to 10,500 postings regarding fathers and child abuse, with hundred of those cases being enabled by the family courts, social services, and others in authority. The documentation is clear. It is now time to stop documenting and put that energy into changing the situation that puts thousands of mothers and children at risk every day.

Dad pleads guilty to 9-year-old daughter's death; was originally assaulted at just 2 weeks of age (Rome, New York)

The severe brain trauma 2-week-old Lorelei Castello suffered in 2003 never got better, and it was only a matter of time until her father, Joshua Castello of Rome, would have to pay the price for his reckless actions that day.

For more than nine years, young Lorelei Castello could neither walk nor talk, could barely see and lived off a feeding tube – all because she was violently shaken by her father when she was just two weeks old.

The severe brain trauma Lorelei suffered in 2003 never got better, and it was only a matter of time until her father, Joshua Castello of Rome, would have to pay the price for his reckless actions that day.

On Sept. 13, 2012, Lorelei died from a respiratory ailment linked to her shaken baby syndrome. And on Friday, 33-year-old Castello took responsibility for her death by pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter.

“I’m sure he wishes he would have acted differently on that day,” at a time when Castello was young and probably stressed from working a lot, said his public defender, Leland McCormac. “He’s never ever tried to deny it or say the injuries were caused by any other fashion or manner.”

Castello will face no more – and possibly less – than three to nine years in prison when he is sentenced by Oneida County Court Judge Barry M. Donalty on Friday, May 23.
Because the long-lasting effect of Lorelei’s injuries was not yet clear at the time she was shaken, Castello previously received only probation in Herkimer County for the 2003 assault.

Now that Lorelei has died, even though Castello’s prison sentence will probably amount to only a few years, his attorney said Castello has already spent more than the past decade haunted by the guilt from his daughter’s suffering.

“He’s endured the most severe punishment that any father could endure – the loss of his own child at his own hands,” McCormac said.

After the proceeding, Lorelei’s mother walked out of the courtroom sobbing, but she declined to comment as she left.

The prosecutor, First Assistant District Attorney Dawn Catera Lupi, then explained how this tragedy is a reminder of what can happen when people disregard how fragile a child can be.

“I think this really is a lesson to a lot of people when care is not taken and people act recklessly toward an infant,” Lupi said. “Your actions toward a very small infant can lead to such a devastating outcome.”